The Book of Questions
by Charlie O'Kelley
Summary: The team go to Castle's house in the Hamptons.  They ask and answer a lot of questions and learn a lot about each other.  The finale doesn't exist in this 'verse.  The main part of the story will be T rated but will have some separate M parts also.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. The talented writers and producers do, I am just borrowing the characters for a bit of fun.

This takes place over the summer after season 3 but the finale never happened. I was thinking of changing my story to make it fit but realized that I didn't really want to. Spoilers may be in here, from any episode up to and including Pretty Dead. Please read the author's note at the end also. Thanks!

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><p>The Thursday before Memorial Day weekend<p>

"So guys, what are your plans for this weekend?"

"Gee Castle, the Captain, just gave us the weekend off two minutes ago," Beckett said as they all walked back to their desks in the bullpen.

"I was just thinking that since Alexis is going to be off with Ashley's family and Mother is doing her summer stock again, maybe you all would like to come to the Hampton's with me for the weekend."

"You all meaning who all?" Ryan asked.

"You, Jenny, Beckett, Esposito and Lanie."

"Jenny was talking about wanting to do something this weekend."

"Yeah, Lanie would love to go to the beach," Esposito said, his mind immediately going to thoughts of her in a swimsuit.

"I thought you needed to finish the next book, Castle," Beckett said.

"I do but I don't have too much left. I was going to tell you all later that I was going to go and just stay there for a week or two to finish it up."

"If you don't have much left, why ask us to be there? Won't we distract you?" Esposito asked.

"Not at all. I work better with some distractions. Come on you guys," he said knowing Beckett was the only hold out. "It's right on the beach. There are plenty of rooms, a pool and a hot tub. I'll probably be writing most of the time so you will have to entertain yourselves but there so much to do, that shouldn't be a problem."

"I'll think about it," Beckett said as she turned to go to the break room.

"So are we still invited if she doesn't go," Esposito asked.

"Of course," Castle said as he turned to follow Beckett, pausing only to tap a few buttons on his phone. He walked up behind her and held out his phone showing her the picture of the view from the porch. "This would be a great spot to catch up on some of the books that you've wanted to read. There's a porch swing."

"I don't know, Castle."

"I promise. I'll be on my best behavior."

"Yeah, you've said that before," she said with a smile.

"I mean it. I'd like to have someone to talk to that isn't making lovey- dovey eyes at someone else. Please it would be cruel of you to make me deal with those four on my own."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you invited then," she said as she went back to her desk.

He sighed and poured some more coffee, taking his time fixing it just right before he walked back to the bullpen.

"So you going, Boss?" Ryan asked.

"Sure, just can't let Castle think it's that easy," she grinned as she watched him walk in the bullpen with a sad face. Ryan and Esposito also grinned when they saw his expression.

"So Castle, is there anything Jenny and I can bring?"

"Just yourselves," he said.

"You sure we can't bring anything?" Beckett asked.

"You're going to come?" A excited smile broke out on the writers face.

"Sure, why not. I have wanted to catch up on Patterson's newest books anyway."

"Harsh, Beckett," Esposito laughed.

"Well, someone won't let me read his books until he's done with them," she joked.

"There will be a copy printed out waiting for you at the house," Castle replied seriously.

"You don't have to do that Castle," she said surprised at the offer.

"As I said, don't worry about bringing anything unless it can only be gotten here in the city. We can stop at the store and get anything else we need while we are there. I'll email you directions. Beckett, what time would you like me to pick you up?"

"I can drive myself," she insisted.

"I know but I don't want to take four different cars. Are you both going to drive?" he asked Ryan and Esposito.

"We'll go together," Ryan said.

"Good. The key is in a lock box by the back door. The password is 012945. Call me when you get there and I'll make sure the alarm is off," he said wiggling his phone.

"You can turn your alarm off with your phone?" Esposito asked. "I need to get one of those phones."

"Dude, you need to get an alarm," Ryan commented as they walked back to his desk.

x-x-x-x

"Hand me your bags," Castle said to Beckett after he knocked on her door at 2pm the following day.

"I can carry them."

"Humor me," he said as reached for the larger bag. She simply rolled her eyes at him and let go of the bag.

"Let me just make sure everything is secure," she said as she slipped into her bedroom. He looked around her apartment but didn't try to go in more than the foyer. Moments later, she returned, grabbed a book from the coffee table, stuffed it in her small bag then opened the door.

"So I figure that once we get to the house, we can all get settled in then run to the store and get the stuff that we need."

"Sounds good," she said as they walked out of the apartment building. Castle popped the trunk on his Ferrari and once her bags were stowed, he just handed her the keys. "Really? You're going to let me drive?"

"You were not asking very loudly," he grinned.

"I didn't think you would let me drive it again," she said with a smile as she sat in the car.

"I figured that I would bring it and let Esposito take it for a drive later."

"Oh, you know he is going to love that."

"I set the GPS for you in case I get distracted. I tend to do that when I'm not driving."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," she said with sarcasm, earning her a glare from him.

They fell silent as Kate drove through the Friday afternoon traffic. Rick's attention soon turned to his phone, which he considerately turned the sounds off on. As much as he liked to pester Kate with making noises and such, he didn't really want to do that while she was driving his car in New York City traffic.

"Are we there already?" he asked as Kate stopped the car. He rubbed his eyes, surprised that he had fallen asleep.

"Not exactly," she said looking in the rearview mirror. "Can you hand me the registration and insurance card?"

"What?" Rick asked as he finally looked behind them and saw the blue and red flashing lights of a local police car.

"Just hand me the registration and insurance card," she said crankily.

He tried to hide his smile as he got out the necessary paperwork as the office walked up to the car.

"License, registration, and proof of insurance, please."

Kate handed the papers over then waited until he walked back to his cruiser before speaking. "Not a word, Castle. Don't say a word."

He opened his mouth, closed it then just smiled at her and did as she said by not speaking. Minutes later the officer came back to the car.

"Try to keep the speed to the posted limits, Detective Beckett," the officer said as he handed her license and other paperwork back to her.

"Will do, Officer Reed," she said as he walked back to his cruiser with a smile on his face. She just knew that it was going to be all over his precinct that he pulled over an NYPD detective for speeding.

"Beckett-"

"I told you not a word."

"How long was I asleep?" he asked.

"About an hour and a half," she replied surprised that he wasn't going to mention the speeding.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I was that tired. I was up late working on the book."

"It's okay. I was enjoying the drive. Did you want to stop at the store first or the house?"

"The house. We can get the other car, there's more room for groceries."

Soon they arrived at his beach house and she pulled up to the garage. He hopped out and punched in the code on the door and stood aside as she pulled in beside the SUV. They soon had the car unpacked and were in the house. Rick dropped his small bag off at the door of his room downstairs and offered to give Kate a tour of the house. There were four bedrooms upstairs and three bathrooms. Kate decided to take the room that shared a bathroom with what was obviously Alexis's room.

"You could take one of the other rooms, you don't have to share a bathroom."

"I won't be. Alexis won't be here and even if she was, I bet she would rather share a bathroom with me than a couple."

"Good point. Want to go get groceries?"

"Sure, are you going to let me drive again?"

"Nope but that does remind me of something," he said as he grabbed a piece of paper, pen and paper clip and quickly wrote a note. He led the way out to the garage and stopped briefly at the Ferrari putting the note in the glove box and a garage door opener on the visor.

"What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.

"Just a little fun," he replied.

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><p>Author's Notes: I am going to need your help with this one. This originally was going to be much shorter but I kept adding more to the back-story and it went nuts from there. Eventually, this story will have two ratings, T and M, but you can read only the T rated part and understand it all. Now for the help, if you all can think of any good questions that you would like Castle, Beckett or the rest of the gang to answer, post them in a review or send me a private message and I will see about adding that to the story. This part is shorter for now (some people were concerned about chapters being too long on my last story) but if you would rather, I'll try to make them longer.<p>

Hope you enjoy! Disclaimer: Castle doesn't belong to me.


	2. Chapter 2

"Castle, it's Ryan. We have the key. Is the alarm still on?"

"Give me a minute and I'll have it off," he switched the phone to speaker and disabled the alarm. "Should be good to go. You guys can pick whichever guest room you want upstairs. Beckett already picked hers and my room is downstairs. Oh, and tell Esposito I left car keys for him if he and Lanie need to go anywhere. They are on the kitchen counter."

"Will do. Wow, this place is great," he said as he followed Esposito and the ladies inside.

"Make yourselves at home. We are at the store, anything you need?"

"I can't think of anything."

"Okay, see you in a while," Castle said as a way of signing off.

Beckett and Castle continued around the grocery store getting needed supplies, he just tossing things in the cart and her removing many of the things when he turned to grab something else. Finally, he caught her putting back the Oreos.

"Hey, I wanted those," he whined.

"Like you need more sugar, Castle."

"Can you do me a favor, Kate?" he asked causing her eyebrow to rise at the use of her first name.

"Maybe," she said suspiciously.

"Call me Rick. The people around here are usually pretty good but I don't want anyone to recognize me right now."

"Okay, I'll try."

"Thanks," he said with a smile as he grabbed the Oreos and put them back in the cart.

"No," she said with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Oh, come on Kate," he pleaded.

"Only if you get the mint ones, those are my favorite," she laughed as he grabbed two bags and put them in the cart then.

She pretty much stopped removing things from the cart after that but she did try to keep it organized so things like the bread didn't end up underneath the boxes of chicken stock. Soon the cart was nearly full but they hadn't even gotten to the produce or refrigerated sections yet. They were in the coffee aisle when she called out to him.

"Hey, Castle?" She met his eyes as they both heard excited noises from the next aisle over. "Sorry."

"I'll take this cart, you go grab another one and we'll meet up somewhere in a few, okay?" he suggested.

Kate picked up a bag of coffee and headed out of the aisle as two young women turned the corner. She headed to the front to get another cart and wandered through the produce department and picked up things that she thought might be useful. Noticing the time, she decided to pick up the pace a bit. She hadn't realized that shopping with Castle would take so long. She was standing at the fish counter waiting her turn when he reappeared without the cart.

"Finally lose your fan club?"

"They had to go home for dinner. I had to buy the stuff then sneak back in the store."

"I really am sorry about that."

"That's okay. I like my fans and I enjoy meeting them, I just didn't think that you would want to deal with it. So what all did you get?" he asked as he poked though the cart.

"Just produce so far. Do you want to wait here while I run over to the meat counter?"

"Sure, anything specific you want, Kate?"

"Scallops and shrimp are my favorites."

"Sounds good. How about we do a surf and turf for dinner tonight? Could you grab some steaks? Filets would be great."

"Sure, I'll be back in a bit."

Castle placed his order with the fishmonger then slipped away to grab a couple of packs of bacon. Kate was back before all the fish was wrapped up with milk, eggs, butter, and everything else needed from the dairy case.

"Oh, Ryan called. He and Jenny were going for a walk so I told them to lock the house back up and put the key back in the lockbox. I hope that was okay."

"Sure. That's usually what I do and I normally don't bother to set the alarm for short periods of time like that. I take it Esposito and Lanie are out for a drive?"

"Yep, Ryan said he was excited to see what car you left him."

"Good. It doesn't get driven much so someone needs to enjoy it. Did you get ice cream?"

"Do you think we need it?" she asked indicating the full cart.

"There is always room for ice cream," he said with a serious voice. They stocked up on various flavors then headed toward the front before Kate stopped and grabbed a chocolate cake mix.

"Do you think we need it?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"It's chocolate," she said as if that explained it all.

They were finally back at the house and started to get things put away when Jenny and Ryan came back and sat on the porch swing. Castle called out and asked if they wanted anything to drink or snack on before dinner. They declined and offered to help with dinner but Castle insisted that they enjoy the porch swing and nice weather.

"Do you mind helping me with dinner, Kate?"

"Not at all. How much seafood did you buy?" she asked amazed as she was pulling it out of the bags.

"Well you said you like shrimp and scallops. I thought lobster tails would be good also. And I got some tuna steak." He turned and saw her shocked look. "Don't worry, I have a huge freezer. I usually go crazy the first time I come here for the summer but I have plenty to last me for the quick unplanned trips that I make sometimes."

"Are you going to be staying here all summer?" she asked.

"No. Not unless you want to kick me out of the precinct."

"Then who would bring me my coffee and bear claws?" she joked.

"I'll be here for a week or two to finish up this book then I'm going to try to get ahead of the deadlines for the next one. I'm going to try to come up here for about a week each month to work on it. And I'll make sure that I call or at least text if I will be longer than that," he said not wanting a repeat of the cold shoulders that he had gotten last fall.

"Thanks. Where do you keep your knives? And cutting board?"

Castle showed her where those items were and began to prep the seafood while she sliced steaks off the beef tenderloin that she had picked up. They talked while they prepped the food. Once everything was ready, they put it all in the fridge to wait for the missing Esposito and Lanie to return. Rick excused himself to his study to write something but told Kate that she was welcome to join him. Just as they were settled in, Rick having set up his laptop and Kate having selected a book to read, they heard the garage open.

"Five bucks says he got stopped for speeding," Kate said.

"No way, that's a sucker bet," he smiled at her as they walked out of the study.

"Great car, bro. Thanks for the loan," Esposito said as he tossed the keys to Castle.

"You going to go make sure it's in one piece, Castle?" Lanie asked, smiling.

"No. I trust Esposito. I'm sure he took very good care of the car. He wouldn't do anything he shouldn't," he said sounding unconcerned but Kate could see the smile in his eyes. "Are you guys ready for dinner?"

"Yes!" Esposito exclaimed, pleased at changing the subject.

"What are we having?" Lanie asked. "And can we help with anything?"

"Surf and turf and if you could help Kate take the trays out to the deck, that would be great."

Dinner was a fun meal with lots of laughter and far too much food. Rick's eyes were clearly bigger than his stomach when he prepped the seafood and he was glad when Kate suggested that they not cook it all that night. They put away the extra food and soon the couples went separate ways again. This time, Esposito and Lanie took a walk on the beach and Ryan and Jenny retired early to their room.

"I'm going to do some writing but feel free to join me, Kate. There is a window seat in there if you want to read your book. It looks out to the ocean."

"I don't want to bother you though."

"It's not a bother. Alexis usually sits there and reads when we are here together. That way I can bounce ideas off her if I need to."

"Promise to let me know if I distract you though."

"You won't but in case you do, I'll let you know," he said with a gentle smile.

Rick soon fell into the world of Nikki Heat and Jamison Rook and didn't realize that nearly three hours passed when Ryan popped his head in the door.

"Castle. Hey, Castle," he said again a bit louder.

"Huh?" he said finally looking up.

"We are all turning in. I came down for some water. I think everyone else is asleep. Want me to make sure everything is locked up?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, thanks," he said as he looked over to the window seat to see Kate sound asleep.

"When did she doze off?"

"I don't know," Castle said stretching. "I'll wake her up and send her upstairs in a bit."

"Night," Ryan said.

Rick turned to look at Kate and just watched her sleep for a while. As he watched, he noticed that she was shivering. He stood up and after gently pulling the book from her hand, he carefully picked her up. He took a few steps and tenderly placed her on the couch. He covered her with the blanket, then brushed the hair from her face when her eyes suddenly shot open.

"Castle."

"You fell asleep on the window seat. I saw you were shivering so I thought I would move you from the window. You okay?" he asked as she pulled the blanket tightly around her.

"Yeah. I just have dreams about the freezer container sometimes," she said unsure how much she wanted to say.

"I do, too," he admitted. "I have so many blankets on the bed anymore it's silly. Some nights, I even sleep in socks. And I usually hate socks."

She sat upright, yawned, and then lifted one side of the blanket. "Wanna share?"

He sat beside her and put one arm around her shoulders as she tossed the blanket over him also. She tucked her legs beneath her then making sure the blanket was tucked in well, she rested her head on his arm and fell back asleep. He looked down at her sleeping form and tucking her a bit closer, he too fell asleep.

Author's Notes:

Some ideas for the questions that I need are as follows:

When was your first kiss? Describe your first kiss with your current partner.

Do you have an eccentric relative? Tell a crazy story about them.

And I will also take some more M rated questions like When did you lose your virginity?


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: I am missing Castle tonight so I decided to post another part. I might even post another piece of fluff later tonight but I haven't decided on that yet. Thanks for all the questions that I can ask the guys. I have gotten some good ones so far, keep those questions coming though. I'll probably start posting the parts with the questions by the weekend. Thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favorites so far. I had a not so good week last week and all those emails I got made me feel much better. BTW, The parts with the questions, might be short chapters. I was thinking about posting one question and it's answers as a single chapter. I do have some questions that really need to go together though, so those might get posted together. I better stop rambling, but one more thing. You can find me as CharlieOKelley on Twitter. See you there, and Enjoy!

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><p>Rick woke up to a beautiful red sunrise streaming in through the window overlooking the ocean. He was surprised to see that he had Kate in his arms. Not wanting to wake her, he gently untangled himself from her, then went to the bathroom brushed his teeth. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, he went ahead and started some coffee then settled back at his laptop and began typing away. About an hour later, Kate finally woke up.<p>

"Good morning, Kate."

"Morning, Castle," she said. "Did you write all night?"

"No. I woke up about an hour ago. You were so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you."

"I better get upstairs and get a shower. Thanks for giving me the blanket last night," she said.

"Not a problem, Kate."

"Do you have coffee?"

"I fixed some about an hour ago but I'll make some fresh for you."

"Thanks, Rick," she smiled before she left the room.

Kate walked upstairs and was almost in her room when Lanie suddenly popped her head out of her door.

"Sneaking upstairs, are you?"

"I'm not sneaking," Kate insisted.

"Well, you didn't come upstairs last night. You are wearing the same clothes, your bed is un-slept in, and I know of a certain someone whose bedroom is downstairs," Lanie added with a smirk.

"Lanie," she warned rolling her eyes as she walked into her room and shut the door, signifying that the conversation was over.

Thirty minutes later, everyone was sitting around in the kitchen, either at the small table or leaning against the counter. Kate should have known that Lanie wasn't going to let anything go and wasn't too terribly surprised when Lanie spoke up.

"So girlfriend, where exactly did you sleep last night?"

"Lanie!"

"What?" she asked as Kate glared at her.

"I was reading in the study when I fell asleep on the window seat."

"Yeah, that didn't look too comfortable," Ryan said, defending his friend.

"How do you know?" Kate asked before Lanie could.

"I stopped in to see if Castle wanted me to lock up last night and you were out. He said he was going to wake you up and send you upstairs but I guess he didn't."

"I guess I didn't realize how late it was myself," Castle said as he told the truth, just not quite all of it. "I sat on the couch and fell right to sleep. So, what does everyone want for breakfast?"

Soon breakfast was over, everyone pretty much fended for themselves. No one really had plans for the day but they there were all soon leaving for different destinations. Ryan and Jenny left to go for a drive in the Ferrari. Esposito and Lanie were driving around in Ryan's car and Kate chose to go for a solitary walk along the beach. Rick was writing but he made sure that Kate promised that she wouldn't go in the water alone.

Rick had been writing all morning when he decided to take a break and grab a sandwich for lunch. He was standing in the kitchen when Kate returned, dripping wet.

"You said you weren't going to get in the water by yourself."

"I didn't. Not in the ocean, at least. Look outside."

Rick turned to notice that it was raining, torrentially raining. "Wow. I didn't know it was going to be raining this weekend. Let me grab you a towel."

He was back in moments with two towels then letting her dry off, he slipped into the kitchen and fixed her a cup of coffee to help her warm up.

"Thanks, Castle," she said after she took a few sips. "I'm going to go take a hot shower. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Hold on. I have a steam shower in the master bath. You can use that if you want."

"Do you mind?" she asked as she tried not to shiver.

"Not at all. Follow me."

They walked to his bedroom and he paused to grab a big fluffy terry cloth robe. He hung that beside the shower then flipped a couple of switches and placed some huge towels in a drawer. "Use these when you are done."

"Is that actually a towel warmer?" she asked surprised.

"Yeah, by the time you get out they will be perfect as will the heated floor. I can also start a fire if you would like," he offered.

"No, this should be fine," she smiled at all the luxuries.

He quickly explained the steam shower then left her alone. Kate enjoyed her shower and finally felt warm again. She stayed in the shower just a bit longer than she should have thinking that it was a shame that she wasn't able to buy something like this on her salary.

Rick stood at the window watching the rain for a while when he saw his Ferrari drive up. He slipped into the garage and hit the button to open the door. Soon Jenny and Ryan were back in the house and after asking where Beckett was, and finding out she was taking a shower, they decided to go upstairs to take a shower also. Rick didn't even think about the fact that once they walked by Kate's room, they would realize that she wasn't in there and had to be using a different shower. Rick was thinking about the fact that if he left his SUV in the garage, Lanie and Esposito would have to walk through the rain to get into the house. He hopped in the SUV and pulled it out of the garage, drove it down the drive and parked it in the turn around. Rick cursed the missing umbrella that was supposed to be in the SUV then jogged back into the house. He was soon drenched but at least this way only one of them got all wet.

Rick grabbed a towel and from the dryer then at his bedroom room and still hearing the shower running, he decided to take a chance and ran in to grab a dry shirt. He changed real quick and walked out toweling dry his hair.

"Is Kate back from her walk?" Lanie asked as Rick walked from his room.

"Uh, yeah. She got back a while ago," Rick replied. "Did you have a nice drive before the downpour?"

"Yeah, it was nice," Esposito said. "Did you have a good time writing?"

Rick was about to answer when Lanie and Esposito's eyes were drawn to something behind him.

"Or a good time doing something else?" Lanie asked.

Rick turned quickly enough to see Kate standing in his robe, one that he had never liked before. "Oh crap," she mumbled before she turned to go back into his room.

"Nothing happened, I swear," Rick explained.

"Sure," Lanie said with a smirk.

"Kate was walking on the beach when the rain started. By the time she got back here she was drenched and chilled. I have a steam shower and I thought that might help her warm up."

"And was she warming up alone?" asked Esposito with a glare.

"Yes, she was."

"So you just have wet hair and changed your clothes for fun?" he asked sarcastically.

"I went outside in the rain to move the SUV so you two could pull into the garage and not get wet. Someone didn't put the umbrella back where it was supposed to be the last time they used it. So I got wet."

The couple looked at Castle for a few moments then decided to go upstairs and let Kate leave Castle's room without an audience. Once they were upstairs, Rick lightly knocked on his door.

"Kate?"

"Come in."

"Sorry about that."

"It's not your fault. Lanie just has a good imagination so I am sure she came up with all sorts of interesting scenarios of why I was walking out of your bedroom wearing your robe."

"I am sure she did. I also told her that I had to move my car and got wet and that you got chilled on your walk and were enjoying the steam shower."

"I better get dressed before Ryan and Jenny get back and this starts all over."

"They got back earlier," he said not noticing her slight flush when she wondered what the other couple would think when they found out she was showering in Castle's shower. "So, what would you like for lunch?"

"Something hot," she said before she glanced around the living room then headed upstairs to get dressed.

Rick went into the kitchen and thought for a moment before grabbing a pot and some ingredients. Soon Kate was back fully dressed in long sleeves.

"Did you like the shower?"

"It was wonderful. Too bad I just rent and can't put one in my apartment. I would save up for that." They laughed. "What are you fixing?"

"I was going to fix onion soup but the onions will take too long so I thought chicken noodle would be quicker."

"But I'm not sick," she said with a smile.

"Consider it precautionary."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: Sorry this part is a bit on the shorter side. I am planning on starting to post the questions in the next day or two. I was planning on working on a bunch of them today but then I got a call from the school about a sick kid. Then I had bunch of errands with a 4 year old in bright sun so then I got a headache. I dislike bright sunlight. So no writing. Will try to work on it tonight after kids and sun goes to bed.

Don't forget you can find me on Twitter. I have 20 followers now. Whoo hoo!

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><p>"Hey, thanks for fixing us lunch, Castle," Esposito said.<p>

"I didn't," he said.

"But you fixed Beckett lunch," Ryan stated.

Rick and Kate both roll their eyes at the boys then walked away into the study. Neither missed Jenny asking just a bit too loud.

"Are you sure nothing happened between them?"

Rick didn't look at Kate and just walked to his desk, propped his feet up and pulled the laptop to his lap. Kate wandered around and looked at some of the books on the shelves. She wanted to read Heat Rises but she wasn't going to bring it up if he didn't. She did find a selection of books that surprised her. She turned to look at Rick, who wasn't typing, he was watching her.

"What are these?" she asked pointing to The Book of Questions and If Questions for the Game of Life.

"Oh, those are fun," he said as he put down the laptop and stood up to join her by the books. "If I ever get stuck, I pick up one of these and try to answer the questions as my characters would. It's a good writing exercise and a fun game with friends in any event."

"How do you use that for writing?"

"Okay. Imagine Rook and Heat are talking but then I hit a bit of a speed bump. I pull one of these out or look at the list I have on the computer and jump to a random question. Sometimes I can just use the question almost directly in the story other times, just the writing the answer will give me a bit more insight on the characters and then I'll know the answer."

"Give me an example."

"Okay," he said as he grabbed one book and flipped to a random page. "What is the strangest thing you've ever eaten?" Now, I can imagine that Nikki probably hasn't eaten too many totally off the wall things but Rook, definitely. He is a reporter who has been all over the world and seen lots of different cultures. This question could be a great conversation starter between the two of them when they are having dinner somewhere, maybe at a place that Rook chooses that is a bit out of Nikki's comfort zone."

"So Rick, what's the weirdest thing you've eaten?"

"I don't know, that could be anything from coffee jello to chocolate covered crickets. You?"

"Coffee jello?"

"Yeah, it's not nearly as good as it sounds," he shuddered in memory causing her to chuckle. "It looked like cold, sweaty liver."

"Ew. The weirdest thing I've eaten. You mean other than the cows foot stew?" He nodded. "Rattlesnake sausage."

"Seriously?" he asked and she nodded in return. "That's not too weird though."

"For a city girl like me?"

"True. Where did you get rattlesnake sausage?"

"During college, I went with my roommate to her parent's house and we went to this pizza place that had rattlesnake or alligator sausage."

"Louisiana or Texas?"

"It was in North Carolina actually. But it is a chain that has most of its stores in Louisiana."

"Wanna take a road trip?" he grinned.

"Sorry but they've changed their menu. They don't have the crazy stuff anymore, except for hotdogs."

"How are hot dogs an unusual thing for a menu?"

"Because it's a pizza topping not just a hot dog. They also have a spaghetti pizza."

"That place sounds fun," he said with a smile.

"When I was there, I looked at the menu and it had this long list of toppings organized in categories like cheeses, meats, and vegetables," she smiled at the look of confusion on his face. "I mean a long list of toppings. The one I remember the most was the beans category."

"Beans on a pizza?" he asked with a grimace. "What kind of beans?"

"Garbanzo, green beans, jelly beans, refried beans."

"Jelly beans on a pizza?" he asked with surprise.

"Yep. I heard that if you asked for a topping they would get it and put it on a pizza. Oreos and Captain Crunch were mentioned in one instance."

"I don't know if I should be intrigued or scared," he said with a smile.

"Says the inventor of the s'morlet."

"So what did the rattlesnake taste like?"

"Sausage. Same with the alligator. Nothing really special, the rattlesnake did seem pretty lean though."

"That's cool. That will have to go in the book, if you don't mind. Oh, speaking of the book, here is that copy I promised you. Sorry I didn't think to give it to you last night."

"That's okay," she said as she took the offered pages and went to sit down. Before she was able to get comfortable, the rest of the guys came in.

"So, Castle. I know you said we would have plenty to do but I wasn't counting on this rain," Esposito complained.

"What do you want me to do?" Castle asked.

"Entertain us," Ryan said.

"Well, it's not storming, you can always go for a swim."

"In the rain?" Lanie asked surprised.

"You'd get wet in the pool anyway," Castle replied with one quirked eyebrow. "Did you bring your swimsuit?"

"Yes," Lanie replied.

"How about you Beckett? Did you bring your suit? Is it a two-piece?" he asked not giving her a chance to answer.

"I thought you said you were going to be on your best behavior," she glared at him

"For me, this IS my best behavior," he leered at her causing her to roll her eyes at him.

"No, I'm not going swimming. How about 'The Book of Questions'?" Kate suggested.

"What's that?" Jenny asked.

x-x-x-x

After explaining the book and finding out that Lanie and Kate had both been to the same pizza chain, though Lanie preferred the crawfish on her pizza. They all settled around the living room with a stack of books around them all. Since he was the host to this little party, Castle picked up a book, flipped to a random page and read the question.

"What is your favorite sexual position?" He stopped in surprise once he realized what exactly he read. "Well, let's just put this book away and find some different questions."

"That might be more fun after a few drinks," Lanie suggested.

"How about this one," Ryan suggested. "What was the happiest moment of your life?"

"Kevin's proposal," Jenny said with a smile as she reached for his hand.

"When she said yes," Kevin said.

"I have some ideas but I can't really share them," Esposito said as he raised one eyebrow at Lanie. "But other than that, driving that Ferrari made me pretty happy."

"The day I graduated from medical school. My mom said I wouldn't be able to do it and I proved her wrong," Lanie said.

"I don't know," Kate said. "Maybe graduating from the Academy."

"The moment the doctor said, 'it's a girl.' Best. Moment. Ever." Castle said with a wide grin.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's notes: First off, let me toss out a disclaimer. I don't own Castle, well I do now happily own season 1 on DVD but I don't think that really counts too much. Thanks to everyone who has alerted, favorited and reviewed this story so far. Some of these questions and answers are a bit on the shorter side so I do apologize for that. Enjoy!

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><p>"Here's a good one," said Lanie. "What is your favorite food indulgence? Something you know is bad for you but you do it anyway."<p>

Esposito, Ryan and Kate all looked over to Castle who rolled his eyes then glared back at them.

"I like a deep fried candy bar," Jenny said unsure what the looks passing between nearly everyone else meant.

"Oh yeah," Esposito said with a grin. "Castle likes deep fried Twinkies."

"Not anymore. It's been a couple of years since I did that and I don't plan on doing that again," he said honestly before turning to Jenny. "Do you like deep fried Snickers?"

"I prefer Milky Way, I've never been too fond of caramel," Jenny said causing all eyes to go to Lanie.

"Yeah, neither am I," Lanie said.

"Obviously, I am missing something," Jenny commented.

"There was a case where a body was found and it was covered in caramel sauce. Lanie commented then she didn't like caramel," Ryan explained.

"But she does like whipped cream," Esposito commented before the woman in question elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts," Kate said trying to save her friend from any more embarrassment. "When I went to spend break at my roommate's house, we went to that pizza place and then she took me to the very first Krispy Kreme store. The doughnuts are usually just fine but when they are hot, just sinful. I was glad they were only in the south but then later in college, we found out that they have one at Penn Station. It was so bad to find that out," she said with a smile.

"I would go visit cousins down in Louisiana and we would go to this little place that had the best jambalaya. Oh, it was so good," Lanie said.

"Sometime those little mom and pop places are the best," Esposito commented. "There is this one place I would go to when visiting some family that was just amazing. Simple, good food, lots of it and it didn't kill the budget either. I'm sure that they had some food there that was supposedly better for you but we never bothered to look into that. The food was just too good to care about the fat content."

"My sister used to sell Girl Scout cookies," Ryan interjected. "All I can say is that I am glad you can only buy them for a short time each year. Castle, if it's not deep fried Twinkies then what is it?"

"Ice cream. That doesn't sound too bad but you guys haven't seen the amount of toppings that I can put on it. Or whipped cream," he wiggled his eyebrows at Lanie and grinned.

Jenny picked up a book and flipped to a random page to read out her question. "If you could see any person naked who you haven't, who would you want to see?" She paused a moment to see if anyone was going to jump in to answer it. "Jimmy Morgan, a guy I knew in college. I had the biggest crush on him. Kevin?"

"The head cheerleader in high school, Missy Conrad. She was cute," Ryan said before gesturing to Lanie.

"Denzel Washington," Lanie said with no hesitation.

"Oh, we can pick actors? Then I pick the Rock," Jenny stated earning a pout from her fiancé.

"If we are going with actors then I say Claudia Black," Esposito said causing Lanie to raise an eyebrow.

"No more Farscape for you, Javi," she mumbled.

"Brent Edwards. He was the most popular guy in high school. I was probably one of the few who didn't see him naked," Kate said with a smile. "But if we are talking about actors, Sean Connery."

"As James Bond or now?" Rick asked with a smirk.

"Have you seen the new Louis Vuitton ads?" Kate asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He's like 80 years old!" Rick exclaimed.

"Have you seen the new Louis Vuitton ads?" she asked again in the same tone causing laughter from the other women.

"I would have to say Morena Baccarin. She stars in 'V' right now," Rick said.

"Really? That's who you'd pick?" Esposito asked cutting his eyes to Beckett.

"Seriously, bro?" asked Ryan also looking at Kate who was now avoiding anyone's eyes.

"The question clearly states 'have _not_ seen naked'," Rick said before he could help himself.

"You've-" Ryan started but cut off at the glare from Kate.

"Girlfriend, I think we need to talk," Lanie said ignoring the glare now directed to her.

"She was in the shower when her apartment blew up," Rick quickly went to explain. "I went in then once I realized her, um, lack of attire, I turned around and gave her my jacket."

"Mm-hmm," Lanie mumbled.

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><p>Can you think of any more questions and possible answers that I can work on?<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: I am sorry that this part is short. I was lost in another story and I will be focusing on this one next. I have gotten a lot of great questions and I have some answers for some of them already but just not everyone's answers yet. Hope you enjoy!

Esposito picked up a book in front of him and asked the next question.

"What was your most embarrassing moment?" Esposito asked glancing over to Lanie.

"I was having a really nice dream. You know, one of 'those' dreams," she said suggestively. "The bad thing is, I wasn't alone and the name I called out was not the man I was with."

"Ouch," said Kate.

"Having to call my daughter to bail me out of jail after borrowing a horse," Castle said.

"What so bad about that?" Jenny asked while Kate grinned.

"It was a police horse and I went for a ride through Central Park."

"And?" Kate said, her smile even wider now.

"Okay, so I wasn't wearing any clothes," he mumbled glaring at Kate. "Esposito?"

"Getting stopped for speeding when I borrowed someone's car."

"Just one question, how fast were you going when Officer Reed stopped you?"

"Yeah, how did you know his name?" Rick glanced at Kate and saw the glare directed at him.

"Um, he stopped me before," he lied. "Did he like the note I left for him?"

"What note?" Kate asked.

"Writer Boy here put a note in with the registration that said 'Officer Reed, please don't arrest my friend. I let him borrow my car and he promised that he would take care of it and I know he would be embarrassed to be caught speeding. Thanks, Rick Castle.'"

"That's the fun you had yesterday?" Kate asked, he nodded and gave his signature grin. "Terrible. Jenny?"

"I would have to say the most embarrassing moment was that scene that I made at the precinct when I thought Kevin had spent the night with Natalie Rhodes."

"I heard all about it and that wasn't too bad," Lanie said.

"Yeah, I probably would have hurt him," Kate said.

"Your turn, honey," Jenny said to her fiancé.

"I was in high school and I called my girlfriend's house. We were talking for a bit when I noticed that something didn't seem right. Turns out it wasn't my girlfriend I was talking to, it was her mother."

"Hope what you said wasn't too bad," Esposito said.

"No, thankfully. Still, I would always check to make sure who I was talking to after that. Beckett?"

"My most embarrassing moment," she said trying to stall a bit. She looked down at her empty glass and finally spoke. "One time, I was trying to tell a guy how I felt about him."

"Did he not feel the same?" Jenny asked, everyone else silent.

"I would guess not. He walked off with someone else."

"Idiot," Castle mumbled.

"Girl," Lanie spoke up. "Let go get a drink refill."

Kate and Lanie came back to the living room a few minutes later with refills and more snacks for everyone. Kate was smiling and as she sat down Ryan picked up one of the books and quickly read the statement that he chose.

"What do you think the person of the opposite sex in the couple to your left prefers to wear to bed?"

"But we aren't a couple," Castle commented pointed to Beckett.

"Close enough. You're partners aren't you?" he asked.

"Besides," Lanie interjected. "Kate stayed over at your place for like a week after her apartment blew up."

"Okay, then," Castle started. "Lanie probably wears something silky and slinky."

"Esposito," Kate said. "Probably commando." She laughed as he suddenly looked up at her shocked that she would say that about him. He had been so lost in thought of Lanie in something slinky that he didn't realize at first that Kate was just joking.

"Ryan probably wears boxers and a t-shirt," Lanie said once the laughter died down.

"A nightgown," Esposito said in regards to Jenny.

"Sleep pants and a t-shirt for Rick," Jenny commented.

"Beckett wears yoga pants and a t-shirt," Ryan said.

"You seem awfully sure of that, dear," Jenny commented with a smile.

"Remember when Beckett was being chased by a serial killer, just before her apartment blew up? Castle stayed over to protect her and supposedly spent the night on the couch."

"I did," he insisted but no one was listening to him.

"They found a body on her doorstep that morning and when we got there she was still in her night clothes."

"Oh, okay," she grinned letting him realized that she was just teasing him. "So, Javier was right, I sleep in a nightgown or one of Kevin's T-shirts. Was everyone else right?"

Everyone was pretty much in agreement and Kate thought the question was over but then Lanie had to speak up.

"Okay I just have to say this. The question said what they 'prefer' to wear to bed, not what they do wear to bed. And I notice those two didn't say anything."

"Okay, I prefer to sleep in the nude but I can't do that with Alexis and Mother living with me."

"Why not?" Ryan asked thinking that he could just keep his door locked or something so they wouldn't walk in on him.

"I sleepwalk," Rick said simply.

"And I for one will be making sure my door is locked tonight," Kate smiled sweetly at him.

"So, what about you Kate?" Rick asked.

"I do prefer to sleep in yoga pants and a t-shirt, when anyone else is around."

"And if you are alone?" Rick asked, one eyebrow quirked.

"I sleep in the nude. But don't worry," she patted him on the knee. "I don't sleepwalk."

"Damn."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's notes: Sorry that this took so long to post and that it is so short. I have been working on some others also and I have much less time to write now during the summer. Keep an eye out on my Twitter page for updates. I am currently working on a story for the CastleAwards then I will work more on this one, I promise.

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><p>"Is there something in your past that you are still trying to heal from?" Kate realized that she should have read it to herself before reading it out loud. "My mom's murder obviously, but I am doing better."<p>

"Not being able to give Alexis a good stable family. I didn't have it growing up and I wanted more than anything to give it to her. Amazingly though, she doesn't see to hold it against me."

"I don't know if I am still trying to heal from it," said Esposito. "But I do still have nightmares occasionally about it. I was eight and I went in to get my baby sister up from her nap but she had died in her sleep."

"Javi. I had no idea," Lanie said as she pulled him into her arms.

"Yeah, I don't talk about her much," he said a bit embarrassed by the attention. "What about you Lanie."

"I was about the same age, 8 I think, when my grandpa died. He was such a nice man. I still miss him terribly. Jenny?"

Jenny looked over to Kevin who nodded his head slightly before wrapping his arm tightly around her shoulders.

"A few months ago, I had a miscarriage," she said causing looks of shock on every face. "We obviously didn't intend on getting pregnant then but we were going to get married anyway. We were going to tell you all but we wanted to wait until after 12 weeks just to be safe. I miscarried at 11 weeks."

Castle knew that this subject was painful to his friends and he could tell that they didn't want to dwell on it right now so he flipped to a page and read his question.

"Tell a story about your most eccentric relative."

"Well, that's easy for me," Kate stated. "I don't have any."

"You don't have any stories?" Jenny asked after she had wiped her eyes dry.

"I don't have any relatives. It's just my dad and me. I'm an only child and both my parents were also. I barely remember my grandparents."

"You want crazy relatives? Just wait for the wedding, there will be plenty there," Ryan said. "You can even keep some of them."

"Yeah, his Uncle Ed," Jenny said.

"Hey! What about your Uncle Tom?"

"Uncle Tom is a sweetie," she insisted.

"One time we left his house, he called out to me, I walked back to see him because I figured that he had an important comment to make. You know what he wanted to ask me? He wanted to know how far I would have gotten if he hadn't stopped me."

"Oh, and your Uncle Ed is better? I was walking through the kitchen one day and he suddenly yells out, 'What's wrong with your leg?' I look down to see what happened that I must have missed. His response, 'It's bending.'" Everyone laughed.

"Yeah, you do have to be a little careful with him. When my mom was little, all her brothers were sliding down the haystack at a friends place. Mom wanted to do it too, Uncle Ed told her that the other side was better though, so there she goes down the haystack in her pretty little Easter dress right into the manure."

"Oh no! Maybe I am glad I don't have brothers," Kate said.

"Me too," replied Castle. "Or sisters. Can you imagine the trouble I would have gotten into?"

"How about you, Castle? I bet you have some crazy relatives."

"You've met my mother and need to ask?" he looked at Esposito like he was crazy. "It was just me and mom growing up, so no crazy relative stories. Other than my mother, of course. How about you?"

"One of my dad's uncles, Tio Javi, and yes I was named after him. He is 89 years old living in a retirement home."

"What's so eccentric about that, bro?"

"The last time I talked to Dad, he mentioned that Tio Javi was asking to have some new meds."

"Asking for more meds?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, they normally don't just give out Viagra," he said enjoying the looks of shock on everyone's face. "It seems he has a lady friend or two."

"Let's make sure he never meets my grandma," said Lanie. "She turned 90 last year, my aunt keeps trying to get her to sell her place and move in with her. Grandma keeps refusing. Said it would cramp her style."

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><p>Author's notes: All those relatives are mine. Scary, aren't they?<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Author's notes: Hey I finally got off my backside to post the next part! Yippee! I have a bunch of questions finished for this, I just need to fit them all in order that they make sense. I also need to figure out how I want to deal with the M Rated parts. I was planning on having a separate story for the questions asked after dinner, unfortunately, that won't work. I decided to write up an end to the story, a Caskett-y ending, and I am working on that right now also. I will still be posting some M-rated chapters but there will probably not be nearly as many of those as I had originally wanted.

BTW, don't forget! Three of my stories,_ Team Building_, _Justice for Kate_ and _Father and Son, Mothers and Daughters_ are finalists for the Castle fan awards. You can vote for them at castlefans . org / vote-now (just take out the spaces.)

Now on to the story, enjoy!

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><p>Once the laughter had died down, Ryan read the next question.<p>

"Have you ever lied to your partner to avoid sex? That's easy for me, no."

"Same here," Jenny said looking sweetly at her soon to be husband.

"Why would a guy want to avoid sex?" Esposito asked with a grin.

"Very funny, Javi. I see no reason to lie, if I don't want to have sex I just tell him," Lanie said.

"I agree," said Kate.

Esposito looked over at Castle and knowing that he wasn't going to answer any differently, he picked up a book and flipped to a page. Everyone was surprised when Castle did answer and not with what they expected.

"I have," he said quietly.

"You try to avoid sex? That just doesn't seem like you," Lanie pointed out.

"Seriously, bro?" Ryan asked.

"Yep. Meredith and I were trying to give Alexis a sibling when I found out she was cheating on me." He was so lost in his memories that he didn't even notice the laughter and smiles fading away. "I found out one night and I was going to confront her then but Alexis had been sick the night before and I hadn't gotten much sleep. I finally fell asleep while waiting for her. She didn't bother to wake me up. She did wake me up the next morning to let me know that she was ovulating. I lied and told her that I must have Alexis' cold and I wasn't feeling well. I got up to take care of Alexis and Meredith went back to sleep."

"So you and your daughter were sick and she left you to take care of her?" Jenny asked.

"She didn't want to get what we had, she was busy filming a movie," he shrugged like it was no big deal, obviously it had happened often. "I confronted her about the affair later that day and she was gone by that night."

"So that's how you got custody?" Lanie said softly.

"That and the fact that Meredith was too busy to take care of her. I have a much more flexible schedule and luckily the judge took that into consideration. I can't imagine what my life would have been like otherwise."

Esposito knew that Castle didn't want to keep pondering what could have been so he read the next question out loud.

"What's one of the most difficult things you've ever had to do?" he asked suddenly wishing that he had picked a different question.

"Tell Kevin that I lost the baby," Jenny sniffled. Lanie got up and picked up a box of tissues, took a few, then passed them around.

"Like my granddaddy used to say," Lanie commented, "Take some, leave some, pass some on."

"Thanks," Ryan's lips quirked into a tiny smile as he accepted the tissue box and unashamedly took a few. "That was tough. I mean, neither of us planned on a baby that soon and if you had asked me about it before I would have freaked out. Once she told me though, there was no doubt in my mind that it was right."

"I love my job most days," Lanie said. "But some days, I hate it. I had one case where a little girl was tortured and raped. I had to do the autopsy. I can usually compartmentalize but that one was tough."

Esposito wrapped his arm around Lanie tightly and dropped a kiss on her head before he looked over to Ryan, his gaze pausing on Jenny for a moment. "She know about that night, bro?"

"Yeah, I told her."

"Watching Lockwood torture Ryan. I couldn't do a damn thing," he stopped suddenly. His friends were unsure if he was just finished speaking or his voice wouldn't let him continue. Ryan tossed over the box of tissues, knowing that he would get a reaction.

"Dude, I don't need these."

"You might not, but I do," Lanie stated. "I almost lost you."

"Shhh, it's okay, chica," he rubbed her arm to comfort her. He would have just pulled her to his lap but he didn't think that she would like that kind of public display in front of their friends. "Beckett, how about you?"

"The hardest thing I've done, shoot Coonan. He was the only link I had to my mom's case."

"Why did you shoot him?" Jenny asked.

"We figured out that he was the one who killed my mother and then before we could do anything, he grabbed someone's gun and Castle. He said that we were all going to walk out of there nice and quiet or he would shoot Castle. I couldn't let that happen."

"I still wish that there was some other way we could have handled that mess," Castle said, lightly touching Kate's arm.

"Me too," she said pulling away from him to reach for the tissues. She appreciated the contact but she was afraid that if he tried to comfort her too much, she would really let loose the tears and she couldn't do that here. She decided to go for humor, even though she knew it might fall flat. "What about you Castle? Was you toughest decision between the Ferrari and a Corvette?"

"That wasn't tough at all, definitely the Ferrari," he said with a smile. He knew that he could have left it at that and not said anything but since everyone else was being so open and honest, he knew that he had to fess up to something that he never told anyone. "The toughest thing I had to do was to have Alexis tested to make sure she was mine. When Meredith left, she implied that she'd had more affairs. I had to wonder when they started. There was no way that I would give up Alexis, even if we didn't share the same DNA. My name is on her birth certificate and so by law she is my child. I just had to know though. I mean, what if there was a medical issue, like she needed blood and it was discovered that there was no way I was her father? That would be horrible for the both of us."

"Did you ever tell Alexis?" Kate asked, her hand unconsciously slipping to his arm to offer comfort this time.

"No. She knows that her mother left and later she found out that she cheated on me but I never told her the details of it. Or the test."

"Do you think you will ever tell her?"

"If she asks, I won't lie to her but I will never mention it. I just hope it never has to come up," he said causing everyone in the room to believe that he had gotten back results that were less than desirable.

"What's the drunkest you have ever been?" Jenny asked with a smile. "Personally, I've never been drunk."

"Seriously?" Castle asked glad that the topic had lightened up considerably but knowing that it was going to get darker again when it came to his turn.

"Yes, really. I've tried, but I just seem to have a really high tolerance."

"A freakishly high tolerance," Ryan said. "I think the drunkest I've ever been was when I tried to get her drunk. Big mistake."

"But if you were drunk, how do you know that she wasn't?" Esposito asked.

"Good point," he said.

"You forgot my roommate was there and she could have sworn that I hadn't been drinking at all."

"I went to my old partner Ike's bachelor party. Couple of beers, then tequila, then some cigarettes," Esposito shook his head at the memory.

"But you don't smoke," Lanie said.

"Only if I get really smashed drunk then the hangover is even worse. That time was the last time I smoked and I don't plan on doing it again. It makes me sick as a dog."

"That sounds like me after my 21st birthday," Lanie stated. "I had rarely had alcohol before then, just a sip or two here and there but I went a bit too crazy on my birthday."

"The day after my mom's funeral," Kate said. "And yes, I know I was under age but we had some in the house. My parents never minded if I had a little drink when we were all at home. Mom always said that if it was allowed in moderation, I wouldn't be tempted to go get smashed drunk somewhere else. I went way over board that night though. Castle?"

"The night that I got the paternity test results back. I thought a few drinks would make it easier."

"Did it?" asked Ryan.

"Nope. I opened the envelope but by the morning I had forgotten everything so I had to get up the courage to do it all over again. I was so hung over that I didn't even get close to alcohol for about a year. I finally opened up the letter again. She's mine, in every way including DNA and I don't want her to ever think I doubted that. Or to question what I might have done if the results were different."

Kate looked at him for a moment before she spoke, "You wouldn't have done anything different."

"No, I wouldn't have. Well, I would have tried to find out who it was so she could have her medical history but that's it." He shook his head to clear away the thoughts then stood up and asked if anyone wanted something else to drink.

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><p>Author's Notes: I was re-reading some fics and came across one by Duchess of Strumpetness called Truth or Dare. I had read it months ago and enjoyed it then but when I wrote this I had totally forgotten about it and the question of have you ever lied to avoid sex. My question and Castle's part of the answer is not taken from her story even though it is very similar.<p>

End part 8


	9. Chapter 9

Author's notes: Would you all prefer these longer chapters with multiple questions or shorter ones with about one question each but posted more frequently? I am also working on a couple of other stories right now and they are running off in unforeseen directions. It's funny when that happens!

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><p>They had all been having a fun time asking questions when they finally decided to take a break to fix dinner. Rick decided to fix some chicken alfredo while Kate made a salad. Once the dinner and several bottles of wine were finished, Lanie pulled out a pink book that she had hidden in her pocket.<p>

"Okay, Castle asked this one earlier and we decided to wait until after dinner. It's after dinner now so, what is everyone favorite sexual position?" Lanie asked.

"Remember how I said I've never been drunk?" Jenny asked as several people nodded. "I think I would need to be to discuss sex in that much detail."

"Just tell me then," Ryan suggested with a sexy smile.

"Okay so we each just tell our partner," Jenny said with a mischievous grin. The two couples leaned in to each other and began whispering. Kate just ignored them for a moment when she was surprised to feel Castle lean into to her side.

"So, what's your favorite position?" he asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"You want to know my favorite position?" she asked with a husky voice.

"Yeah."

"In regards to you?" she said sexily.

"Yeah," he swallowed his eyes unconsciously dropping to her lips. She leaned just a bit closer then whispered one word.

"Alone." She sat back enjoying the look of shock on his face but got nervous when he suddenly grinned.

"So you think of me when you're alone?"

"No, I don't," she said clearly flustered.

"Well, you just said-"

"No, I didn't."

"Maybe not in so many words but you implied it," he said with a wink. She glared at him before she called out

"Next question!"

"How about this one? Have you ever had sex where you work?" Lanie asked, wondering what Castle had said to fluster Kate so much.

"That's easy, no," Jenny replied.

"Same here," Ryan said.

Lanie and Esposito looked at each other then without giving any details, admitted together, "Yes."

Kate raised one eyebrow at that but said nothing as she replied in the negative. "Nope, what about you Castle?"

"Technically, yes."

"You've had sex at the precinct?" Kate asked in surprise.

"Since I don't work at the precinct I wasn't talking about that. I said technically because I work at home and yes, I've had sex at my home before."

Kate just rolled her eyes at him, "Ask the next question."

"When was your last one night stand?" Castle asked, smiling.

"Never," Jenny replied.

"A few months before I met Jenny," Ryan said a bit embarrassed to be talking about other women he had slept with when his fiancée was sitting beside him.

"Two years ago," Lanie commented.

"The same," Esposito mentioned.

"Have you two been together for two years?" Jenny asked.

"No," Esposito said. "Just a coincidence."

"April, a year ago. Well technically, it was a two night stand but then I found out she just wanted my connections to be in a movie so yeah, it didn't go well. Beckett?" Castle said hoping to get the focus off of him.

"Early April," Kate said with a slight wink at Lanie and the guys, knowing that Castle didn't see it.

"April? What?" Castle asked in surprise.

"I had just broken up with Josh-"

"Wait. You broke up with Josh?"

"Yeah Castle, keep up," Esposito smirked.

"As I was saying I had just broken up with Josh and well there was this handsome writer following me around."

"I do think that I would remember that, Kate," Rick said confidently.

"Yeah, but you aren't the only writer who's ever followed me around now, are you?"

"You and Conrad?" he practically squeaked. Kate just smiled. "You had a one night stand with Conrad?"

"No," Kate decided to put him out of his misery.

"But you just said-"

"God, Castle you are so easy," she smiled at him. "No, I never had sex with Alex. I did enjoy our dinner together but he never touched me."

Castle managed to hide his sigh of relief before he asked the next question. "Starting with Ryan, how many people in this room have you slept with?"

"Just one." Everyone except Castle nodded in agreement until the question fell to Kate who decided to be a bit more literal than everyone else.

"Everyone but Jenny."

"What?" her friends asked unanimously.

"Well you said sleep with, not had sex with."

"What is with you tonight, girlfriend?" Lanie asked with a grin.

"Just thought I would have a little fun."

"You slept with Lanie?" Castle asked, his mind obviously not functioning properly as him imagination ran away with him.

"Remember that whole not had sex with part? Get your mind out of the gutter, Castle," Kate said as she swatted his arm, finally getting his attention. "We went on vacation one year and the hotel messed up our reservations and we only had one bed instead of the two we were supposed to have."

"When did you sleep with the guys?" Castle asked.

"I dozed off next to Esposito on the couch in the break room once while working late on a case and the same with Ryan when Esposito was shot."

"I'm more interested about when you slept with Castle," Lanie said with a smirk. "Cause I seem to remember your bed being undisturbed this morning."

"Last night," Kate sighed, not pleased with her friend for mentioning the state of her bed this morning.

"I knew it," Lanie said smugly.

"I thought you slept on the window seat?" Ryan commented.

"I did for a while," Kate admitted.

"Nothing happened, Lanie," Castle insisted when he saw Lanie's raised eyebrow.

"I fell asleep on the window seat but Castle woke me up, I moved to the couch, he gave me a blanket, and then sat down beside me. We talked for a few minutes and the next thing I knew, it was morning."

Lanie looked at the two, Castle nodding earnestly, and Kate telling the truth as far as anyone could tell. She shook her head in disappointment before nudging Esposito so he could ask the next question.

* * *

><p>(Author's Notes: Thanks to TheCatchisdeadliest for the have you had sex at work question.)<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

"Well, this question doesn't really work for most of us," Ryan said. "Castle, if you could change one thing about your own wedding ceremony, what would you change?"

"The bride," he said without hesitation. Everyone laughed as Ryan flipped through the book for the next question.

"If you were stuck in an elevator who would you want to be stuck with? Why? And try for an answer other than sex. If you had to pick someone other than your partner?"

"Well, I think it's safe to say we all know how everyone is going to answer the first part of that question," Lanie said smiling.

"If not Jenny then probably Esposito," Ryan said.

"I just like spending time with Kevin. Besides maybe if we were trapped in an elevator, I could finally get some answers about some last minute wedding details," Jenny said with a mock glare. "If someone other than Kevin, I would go for Javier." Several surprised faces turned to her.

"Me? Why?"

"You're my fiancé's partner and I would like to get to know you better. Besides you probably be much calmer than me if I were trapped in an elevator."

"Lanie and I know exactly what we would do," Esposito said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

"It said no sex," Kate said.

"No, it said try to say something other than sex. And I so agree."

"If it weren't Lanie who would you pick?" Castle asked.

"Beckett."

"Huh?"

"You're tall and athletic enough to be able to climb out the top and get help. If the phone inside isn't working of course."

"I'd probably say Lanie," Kate said. "We could catch up on stuff and just talk."

"You wouldn't pick Rick?" Jenny asked noticing the slightly hurt look on his face.

"Jenny, you don't know Castle well enough yet to know that being trapped with him is kinda scary," she joked.

"Very funny Beckett," he pouted.

"Okay, who would you pick?" Kate asked.

"You, of course," Castle said.

"No surprise there, who else?" Esposito asked.

"No one," he insisted.

"What about Alexis?" Kate asked.

"I can't do that to her again," he said with a self-deprecating smile. "Enclosed spaces don't usually bother me but if I am trapped against my will, I'm not usually too happy about it. Alexis and I got trapped once and it wasn't pretty. Kate would be able to keep me calm enough to not panic."

"We've been trapped together a couple of times, it's never seemed to bother you."

"For one, you were there and the times we've been trapped, there was something bigger going on than my not liking closed spaces."

"When were you trapped together?" Jenny asked.

"The first time, there was a false alarm regarding radiation poisoning and the second time we were locked in a freezer car," Castle said not realizing how he and Kate moved towards each other just slightly.

"That's right. I remember Kevin talking about that now. You two have been through a lot haven't you?" Jenny asked rhetorically.

Kate and Rick looked at each other and simply nodded before Kate broke the gaze. She stood up and excused herself.

"I hope I didn't upset her," Jenny asked concerned.

"Don't worry, Jenny. She just doesn't like talking about the freezer container," Lanie reassured her. "I'll go get her."

"No, Lanie, let me," Rick said as he stood up and followed his detective. He looked around for her and found her in the kitchen messing with the coffee maker. "Kate, are you okay?"

Her hands dropped to the counter, her back still to him before she spoke softly. "How long have we known each other?"

"What?" he asked unsure of why she was asking that. She turned to look at him and he answered. "Two and a half years or there about."

"And you've pretty much been my partner since then," she said once again looking away from him.

"Yeah. What's wrong?" he asked as he stepped up behind her.

"How can we be partners and I not realize that you are claustrophobic?" she finally turned to look at him. He could see that this upset her quite a bit.

"Kate, I'm not claustrophobic. I can get into elevators and stuff just fine. I just don't like being trapped. I guess that I shouldn't have read Cast of Amontillado as a kid."

She smiled as he lightly laughed, then said, "I still should have known."

"How? I never said anything."

"I'm a detective, I should have figured it out," she said not looking at him.

"Kate," he said as he ducked down to meet her eyes, then standing, their eyes still joined. "I'm serious, it's not that bad and I hardly even notice it when you are around so there is no way you would have known. Trust me, if it was a problem, I would have told you."

"If it's bad enough that you lost it around Alexis then it must be pretty bad. I know you wouldn't do that around her."

"Oh, but I have," he said with a smile. "When you are around, it doesn't bother me. I don't know why, you seem to calm me."

"This is you calm?" she joked.

"Scary, isn't it?" he asked with wide eyes and a matching smile.

"Come on, we should be getting back," Kate suggested.

"Kate, I'm sorry if I brought up any bad memories," Jenny said as they walked back into the room.

"It's okay Jenny," Kate began but was startled when Castle squeaked and jumped behind her.

"Lanie!" exclaimed Castle and Esposito, as Ryan and Jenny suddenly were dissolved in laughter.

"What happened?" Kate asked.

"While you were gone, Jenny asked a question. 'If you could grab the buttocks of someone famous, whose would you grab?' I said Taye Diggs but since Castle is the only celebrity that I know, I thought I would try it," Lanie explained with a smile.

Kate laughed then everyone else joined in as he walked past Jenny with his hands protecting his backside. Unfortunately, he didn't see Jenny and Lanie both egging Kate on so after he passed Jenny and dropped his hands, Kate gave him a quick squeeze. He squeaked again and jumped to look at Kate.

"Kate!"

"What?" she said innocently looking pointedly at Jenny who was laughing even harder now. Rick looked back and forth between the shy woman laughing and the innocent appearing detective and unable to decide who had actually groped him, he again covered his posterior and quickly sat down.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Thanks to katillion for the question about one night stands. Sorry, somehow I forgot to include that in the notes for Part 9. Also to everyone who sent a review for chapter 9, I really appreciate it. I got some good ideas and comments that inspired me to write a lot faster this weekend. I may start posting some M-Rated chapters soon-ish also so be on the lookout for those. You can also find me on Twitter as CharlieOKelley. See ya there!<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Welcome to BOQ Part 11. This is still not yet the M-Rated chapter, I was going to post it but I realized that I had made some major changes to the rest of the story and it would not work. I will try to fix that tonight, if possible. I am sorry that I didn't post any of this sooner but the last week or so has been slightly insane here. The rest of the week and up until next Tuesday, isn't looking any better either. I had a few spare minutes and my buddy Lisa told me that I needed to post. The only reason that I don't feel totally racked with guilt over not posting is that I did manage to write up a 3am plot bunny. It became two short stories, one in Kate's POV called The Scar and the companion in Rick's POV called Beautiful. If you haven't seen them, go check them out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. Please also let me know if you see any typos in this part. I didn't get the chance to read it over again as I like to. Thanks!

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><p>Book of Questions Part 11<p>

"Ladies, describe your perfect kiss," he asked causing Lanie to smile. "And have you ever had that perfect kiss?"

"Soft, slow and romantic and yes, I have definitely had the perfect kiss," Jenny said as she cuddled a little closer into her fiancé's arms.

"That sounds nice but I prefer the hot and steamy kisses. Had one just a little while ago," Lanie commented thinking about when she and Esposito had taken a little longer than the others to come back from eating dinner.

"I agree with both of you," Kate said.

"How can you agree with both things?" Ryan asked.

"A kiss can be so many things. It can start out slow and soft then progress to hot and steamy. Just like it can be a kiss that you are waiting for but when it finally happens, it's totally by surprise."

"And have you had this perfect kiss?" Lanie asked.

"Yes," she said not looking at anyone.

"So guys, what do you think the perfect kiss is?" Jenny asked.

"Bet you they'll say the same thing," Rick said in a stage whisper to Kate.

"Sucker bet," she replied in kind.

"Okay, Castle since I agree with my fiancée and Esposito probably agrees with Lanie," Ryan looked to his partner who nodded to verify. "What do you consider the perfect kiss?"

"Moan inducing," he said with no hesitation.

"What?" Esposito asked.

"A kiss so perfect that you can make her moan without even realizing it."

"Ah, moan inducing," Ryan said as he looked down at Jenny with a smile. "Yep, that would be a great kiss."

The two couples were lost in each other's eyes as Kate determinedly looked down at her book but didn't really see it. She was too busy reliving that undercover kiss and desperately trying to remember if she moaned or not.

"How many people in the room have you kissed?" Kate asked the next question before she realized what she read.

"Can I assume that you mean a real full-blown kiss instead of a peck on the cheek?" Lanie asked.

"Whichever," she said hoping that she could get away with that.

"Real kiss, just one, but Castle has kissed me on the cheek before."

"Oh really?" Esposito said crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the man in question.

"I kiss a lot of women on the cheek," Castle shrugged.

"Uh-huh. I've only kissed Lanie."

"Just one," Jenny said.

"Just Jenny."

"Just one," Castle said suddenly realizing that he should have counted the peck that he gave Lanie also.

"So, Jenny how good of a kisser is Castle?" Lanie asked immediately.

"What?" Jenny and Ryan both asked in surprise, Castle himself looked a bit shocked.

"I know he's never kissed me more than that peck on the cheek and I know he's never manned up enough to ever really kiss Kate."

"Who said it was a 'real' kiss that I was talking about and not the peck that I gave you that time?"

"Because I know you've given Kate a peck on the cheek too," Lanie smirked.

"Oh, that's right. That time I was trying to distract you to get those crime scene photos," he looked at Kate smiling slightly, hoping that she would not be mad at him for his slip up of almost mentioning their undercover kiss.

"Yeah, right before I arrested you," Kate smiled. Rick's smile widened.

"So two, Lanie." The medical examiner just rolled her eyes and waited for the next question.

"Do you have any piercings or tattoos?" Ryan asked.

"Just my ears," Jenny said. "And I had to be sneaky to get those done. My dad didn't approve."

"No piercings and I'm not really into the whole tattoo thing," Ryan explained.

"I have my ears pierced and I have thought about other places too," Lanie said with a wink to Esposito. "Not sure about a tattoo though."

"Nothing is pierced and will not be either. I do have a tattoo from when I was in the service though. Beckett?"

"Ears, of course. I have mentioned other piercings and tattoos and one was a joke and the other wasn't."

"The tattoo was a joke," Castle said confidently.

"Nope, the navel ring was. Well, I had one but Mom found out about it, went totally nuts and made me remove it. I never got another one.

"Really?" Castle asked in surprise. "I thought you were joking about the tattoo. Can I see it?"

"No!"

"Oh come on, you show me yours and I'll show you mine," he said suggestively.

"Oh, yeah, like you have a tattoo?" Kate said dismissively.

"Yep. I got it in college. Kyra and I thought it would be neat to get tattoos together."

"You have a woman's name tattooed on you?" Kate asked in amazement.

"What would you say if it was just her initials, KB?" he asked with a wink and a small smile that turned into laughter when she glared at him. "It isn't. We were in an Egyptian history class together and I picked a glyph and she picked one also."

"Do they match?" Ryan asked.

"Sort of. Mine is of the god Thoth and hers was Tefnut."

"And they are?" Esposito asked.

"Thoth was the god of writing, magic and storytelling. He used his stories to convince Tefnut, the daughter of Ra, to come back home after she ran away. And what did you say your tattoo was again, Kate?"

"I didn't," she said stubbornly insisting on not telling everyone what it was. Rick pouted but Kate ignored him as she asked the next question.

"What do you think you would do if your partner were unfaithful?" Kate asked.

"I don't know," Jenny said. "Even though I didn't believe him a few months ago, I don't think that I will actually ever have to worry about that with Kevin."

"You don't sweetheart. And I know that I don't either," Ryan said.

"Leave him. If he cheats on me then he doesn't deserve me. And I wouldn't deserve getting into any trouble doing anything to him," Kate said.

"Divorce her," Castle said simply. "That's what I've done before."

"I had a guy cheat on me once," Lanie said before her partner interrupted her.

"Stupid man."

"I agree. He was lucky that I didn't do anything to him other than dump him."

"I'm surprised at you, Lanie," Castle said.

"We were pretty casual," she shrugged.

"And what would you do if Esposito cheated on you?" Kate asked.

Lanie looked between Kate then the man in question before she responded. "Let's just say I know how to hide forensic evidence if need be."

"Don't worry, chica. I might look but I don't touch."

"What are you looking for?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"I'm not looking! Sometimes I see a pretty woman, I might notice her but I don't do anything, Lanie. I swear."

"I know," she said finally showing her smile letting him realize that she was just picking on him. He crossed his arms in front of himself and rolled his eyes at her. He pointedly looked away from her and to Ryan to ask the next question but soon slipped his arm around her again.

"How do you feel about your partner greeting members of the opposite sex with a hug or a kiss?" Esposito asked.

"I think we just proved that I am a bit of the jealous type," Lanie said with a wry smile.

"It's okay, I know Lanie is an affectionate person with some people," Esposito said.

"It depends on who he would kiss or hug," Jenny said. "If it was Lanie or Kate, it would be no problem. But someone like Natalie Rhodes, well, I don't necessarily trust her."

"I trust her too but I have to say it's not my favorite feeling," Ryan admitted.

"Obviously, we aren't partners in that way, so it doesn't matter."

"But what would you feel if you were dating?" Lanie asked.

"I would almost be surprised if he didn't kiss women on the cheek. Now 'the signing women's chests' is all together different."

"I don't do that as much any more. And if Kate started kissing people like that, I would wonder if she had been taken over by aliens," he joked.

End part 11

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><p>Want to keep up with updates for this? Check me out on Twitter, I am CharlieOKelley there also!<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Notes: This story is starting to come to an end. I have a few more questions to answer and I still have to finish up and post the M-rated questions in a separate story. I am working on the ending of the story and I am rather pleased by it so far. If you have any questions still, feel free to send them over and I'll see if I can answer them also.

Disclaimers: No I don't own Castle. Sigh.

* * *

><p>"What does it take to rebuild trust after it has been damaged?" Castle asked. "Can it be rebuilt?"<p>

"I think it just takes a lot of time but it can probably be done," Ryan said.

"I agree with Kevin," Jenny said. "And it also takes faith. Faith that they won't do what ever it was again."

"See, I don't agree," Esposito said. "Not unless it can be proved that there was a good reason, like Ike. Even then though, I don't know if it will ever be the same between us."

"It may be able to be rebuilt, it just depends on the situation," Lanie commented.

"Some times trust can't be rebuilt, no matter what. I know, that I'll never trust Meredith again."

"And yet you still sleep with her," Ryan joked.

"That's been a while since that happened," Castle insisted. "I forgave her quite often for the little things. She was always a bit flighty and I accepted that. I mean, I grew up with that too. That last time we were together though, neither of us had been in a relationship for a while at that point and well, we've never had a problem in bed. It's just that she forgot that her marriage vows included staying out of any other beds and that, I can't forgive."

"Yeah some thing are unforgivable," Kate said. "Otherwise, I would say that it depends."

"On what?" Castle asked trying to hide his curiosity.

"Lots of things. For example, how important the person is who broke the trust in the first place."

"So it's easier for you to forgive someone that doesn't mean as much to you?" he asked, a bit hurt.

"Actually, no."

"No," he said surprised.

"It hurts worse when someone important breaks my trust but if they are that important to me then they probably deserve another chance."

"Do you have an example?" Jenny asked.

"Well," Kate sighed. "Do you know about my dad?"

"No. I'm sorry. You don't have to say anything else if you don't want to."

"It's okay, Jenny. It's not a secret, I just don't talk about it a lot. My dad is an alcoholic."

"Oh," she said clearly upset that she brought up a topic that was obviously a sensitive one.

"It's okay. He's been sober for 7 years now. He started drinking more and more after Mom died and I didn't realize how much until I graduated from college. Once I noticed, I tried to get him to quit and he did for a while. Then I went into the police academy and September 11th happened. We ended up fighting over his sobriety for about 3 years. Every time I trusted him to stay away from the bars, I would turn my back and he would be right back there. If he were just a friend, I would have given up on him but he's my dad, I love him. He deserves my trust."

Rick just sat there and watched her for a moment thinking that she had forgiven him at least two major blunders and how fortunate he was for that. She noticed his look and was unsure about it so she grabbed a book and quickly flipped to a page.

"Oh, this one should prove interesting," she said causing several raised eyebrows. "Who are on your Freebie Five list?"

"Oh no. Not that," Ryan complained.

"Not that I really have a list but if I did," Esposito began. "I would have to say Beyonce, Rihanna, Jessica Alba, and Zoe Saldana. She was great in the new Star Trek movie. But the number one on my list would have to be Halle Berry."

"You know I wanted her to play me in the Nikki Heat movie, right?" Lanie joked.

"Yes, I know," he looked at her with steamy eyes until someone cleared their throat.

"I would have to say Taye Diggs, Djimon Hounsou, LL Cool J, that guy from the Old Spice commercials, A-Rod, and Taylor Lautner."

"That's six, Lanie," mentioned Castle.

"I know, I can't narrow it down," she said with a smile.

"Isn't Taylor Lautner like 17?" asked Ryan.

"Nope," both Lanie and Jenny responded.

"He's 19," Jenny said.

"Oh, the things I could teach that boy," Lanie said wistfully. "How about you Ryan?"

"I don't have a list anymore," he said before he skipped over Jenny and looked at the last couple to answer the question.

"Prince William," Jenny said softly.

"What?" Kate asked.

"He reminds me of a guy from college."

"Wait, you still have a list?" Ryan asked incredulously.

"It's not like I'll actually ever meet them, Kevin."

"Them?" her fiancé squeaked.

"Yeah, there is also Patrick Dempsey from Gray's Anatomy, Taylor Lautner and Jackson Rathbone both from the Twilight movies. Oh, and Robert Pattenson," she said a bit shyly.

"Who is Robert Pattenson?" Kate asked.

"He's the lead in the Twilight movies," Jenny explained.

"Really?" Esposito questioned with a smile. "The skinny dude from the Twilight movies?"

"Not a word, bro, not a word."

"Uh huh," he said with an evil little smirk, Ryan knew that Esposito would not drop the subject that easily so he quickly brought the attention to Castle.

"So. Castle what celebrities would be on your list?"

"I don't have a list," he shook his head.

"Really? You are the only one of us who might actually meet some of them."

"That's the thing, I have met celebrities and I'll just say it just isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

"Seriously dude?" Esposito asked amazed. "You actually don't have a list?"

"Seriously. I don't have a list anymore."

"Anymore?" Kate commented.

"I haven't gotten around to making a new one since I checked off all the women on the first one," he said causing a stunned silence to fall. "Besides, sex with celebrities is overrated."

"Really?" Ryan asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah they are usually so wrapped up in themselves it's just not that good. Kate, who's on your list?

"David Boreanaz," she said and noticing the blank look from Ryan she qualified her answer. "He's the guy from Bones, Jason Bateman, Pierce Brosnan, and Mark Harmon."

"That's only 4," Castle mentioned.

"I was going to say you but since celebrities are too selfish, I guess I'll just take you off my list."

"What?"

"I'm just kidding, Castle. Hugh Jackman is number 5."

"Would you like to have a child much more intelligent and attractive than yourself?" Jenny asked.

"That wouldn't be too difficult for me," Ryan said.

"Hey, don't talk like that," Jenny insisted.

"I know I'm not the smartest guy out there or the best looking," Ryan said.

"I think you're pretty smart, you picked me didn't you?" Jenny joked.

"I guess you got me there," he smiled down at his blonde fiancée.

"It wouldn't bother me at all," Lanie said. Everyone else pretty much agreed.

"I certainly wouldn't want my child to be vain about their looks," Kate said. "Or a show off about their intelligence but I figure that if the kid is raised properly, they wouldn't be like that anyway."

"Well, I already do. We all know that I am ruggedly handsome," Castle said with his chest puffed out, one hand pointing to himself. Several sets of eyes rolled. He smiled showing that he was simply joking. "But you've all met Alexis. She beautiful, always has been since she was born."

"So she was one of those adorable newborns? Cause I've seem some cute ones and some well, not so cute ones when they are first born." Esposito asked.

"I thought so but ask anyone else and they'll tell you different. Okay, yes she was red and wrinkly but still she was beautiful and just got more so each day."

"Other than yourself, who do you think would be the first person that your partner would go to and share good news or bad news with?" Ryan asked.

"Javi would tell Ryan first. He might even tell him before he tells me," Lanie said with a soft smile.

"You know that's only because he is always around me though, right?"

"Of course. You're partners, it's not a problem."

"Lanie, you would go to Kate," he said confidently.

"Kevin would go to Javier, of course."

"And Jenny would go to her sister, Megan."

"Rick would tell Alexis first if it was good news, not sure who he would tell if it were bad news."

"I tell her bad news too," Castle said to Kate's disbelief. "Not much admittedly but I try not to shelter her from everything bad in the world, just most of it. Kate would go to Lanie first. But of course, if it were certain news, I think she'd go tell her dad first."

"Certain news?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, if it had _anything_ to do with the Yankees and meeting Joe Torre, she goes all fangirl then runs right off to call her dad," he grinned but shrank back expecting to be hit.

"What do you expect? It was Joe Freakin' Torre!"

"If tomorrow you found out that you and your partner had just conceived a child, how would you react?" Esposito asked once the laughter calmed down. "How do you think it might change your relationship?"

"It would surprise us but it would be fine," Jenny said confidently.

"I would be way overprotective this time though. I wouldn't let Jenny do anything she wasn't supposed to be doing"

"I don't know. That's not something we've really talked about," Lanie said not looking at Esposito.

"I didn't think you wanted to talk about it," Esposito said suddenly forgetting about their friends listening.

"Maybe we should talk about it, Javi," she said quietly as she turned to look at him.

"You aren't, are you?" he asked. Lanie was pleased to see that he just looked a bit nervous but not terrified.

"No, Javi, I'm not. We'll talk about it later though, okay?" He nodded.

"I would alert the media," Kate said letting Lanie and Esposito realize that they weren't in the room alone.

"What?"

"If I found out tomorrow we had conceived a child," she gestured to Rick, "There would have to be some sort of miracle involved."

* * *

><p>Special thanks to Merry-merry- me for the freebie five idea. I had planned on doing that then totally forgot about it. Also special thanks to Teelduo for the help with Rick's list or lack there of.<p> 


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